Preview: Cardinals at 49ers

October 13, 2013|Reuters

The San Francisco 49ers are back to their dominant selves following back-to-back one-sided losses last month. They'll look to keep that momentum going Sunday afternoon as they welcome the division-rival Arizona Cardinals to Candlestick Park. San Francisco is coming off a thorough 34-3 drubbing of the Houston Texans a week ago and will face an Arizona team riding its own wave of confidence following last week's 22-6 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

San Francisco has been buoyed by a vastly improved offensive attack in consecutive wins over the Texans and St. Louis Rams, scoring 69 points over that span after managing just 10 in losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts. A formidable rush attack (sixth in the league at 140.2 yards per game) has masked what has been a difficult season for quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who leads a pass attack averaging fewer than 182 yards.

TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: 49ers -10.5. O/U: 41.5

ABOUT THE CARDINALS (3-2): With Arizona adding quarterback Carson Palmer to the mix in the offseason, it was expected that the Cardinals' passing game would improve dramatically over years past. That has yet to happen, however; the Cardinals rank 22nd in passing yardage per game and Palmer has struggled to find the open man. Personnel gaffes haven't helped, either: tight end Rob Housler dropped a pass, ran an incorrect route and lined up in the wrong spot in last week's victory. "I'm very disappointed in my production so far," said Housler, who has just two catches for 36 yards.

ABOUT THE 49ERS (3-2): The San Francisco pass attack is also struggling, though the reason here is easy to pinpoint. With Michael Crabtree expected to miss several more weeks with an Achilles' injury, Kaepernick has been forced to rely on newcomer Anquan Boldin and a rotation of lower-tier receivers - and the results have been predictably bad. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Kaepernick has a robust quarterback rating of 108.5 on throws to Boldin - and just 27.7 on attempts to Kyle Williams, Marlon Moore, Quinton Patton or Jon Baldwin.

EXTRA POINTS

1. San Francisco has won seven of the last eight meetings, including a 27-13 decision in their previous encounter Dec. 30.

2. The 49ers made a change to their quarterback depth chart this week, cutting John Skelton and adding McLeod Bethel-Thompson off waivers from the Minnesota Vikings. Bethel-Thompson steps in as the No. 3 option behind Kaepernick and Colt McCoy.

3. Arizona WR Larry Fitzgerald has 1,361 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 18 career games versus San Francisco.